The present invention relates generally to a method and system for improved organic cultivation and environmental control over container grown plants. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system whereby the environment of the container grown plant is controlled in a manner that replicates a natural environment to maximize the health, quality and yield of the plant.
The human species began its ascent to becoming the dominant species on the surface of the earth in large part due to its development of agricultural techniques that allowed them to remain in one place. The ability to grow plants under controlled conditions and to domesticate animals allowed groups of humans to remain in a particular location for extended periods of time and to generate greater amounts of food than were necessary for immediate consumption. One can appreciate, therefore, that the necessity for producing food under controlled conditions, particularly under adverse conditions, has remained a priority of the species since prehistoric times. To meet these needs, artificial growing environments, ranging from those found in ordinary greenhouses to those found in restricted circumstances such as caves, submarines and the like are utilized and are desirable for a variety of reasons. One of the primary reasons for controlled situs agriculture is to produce food for those who are cut off from ordinary sources of fresh produce. This is particularly important in the consideration of long term space voyages and permanent stations, in which the difficulties of transporting fresh produce to the inhabitants will be extremely high.
While methods are being developed to allow the growth of plants in remote controlled locations such methods create separation between the plant and the Earth itself. In large part, via civilization, humans in particular have lost what was once a natural connectedness with earth by adopting insulating clothing and habitat. This is to say that the typical civilized man no longer walks barefoot and no longer sits or sleeps on the ground. Floors, furniture, beds, clothing, and in particular, shoes, are typically highly insulating, cutting off an effective electrical connection between human and ground. Similarly, container grown plants often share this condition. What is neglected in these methods and systems is the fact that all terrestrial organisms have an electrical relationship with earth. In their native environments, all flora and fauna are in electrical contact with earth, either directly, as in standing or lying on the ground, immersed in water, or indirectly, as in perched above ground in a plant, a simple example being an arbor dwelling bird.
A variety of prior art methods have attempted to grow plants of different types under controlled conditions. These have included a number of developments in the field of hydroponics and a large variety of efforts relating to the growth of algae and plankton. Some of these methods have been implemented into specific structures that are utilized for efficient growth of plants under limited and adverse conditions.
Plants which are grown under controlled conditions in environmental isolation are subject to limitation in receiving adequate supplies of four primary growth requirements. For most plants, these requirements include light (electromagnetic radiation in the appropriate wavelengths for providing photosynthesis); carbon dioxide (ordinarily available through the ambient air); water and growth support nutrients. Beyond this, the plants must also have sufficient room to grow in a natural fashion and must have physical support.
One particular area in which a variety of techniques have been utilized is in the provision of light. It is well known among greenhouse operators that, for example, plant growth stimulation may be achieved by modifying the nature and duration of light that is provided to the plants. Further, the intensity and concentration of the electromagnetic energy is also important in achieving proper growth. For example, it has been found that direct radiation can be much less efficient in achieving significant and even growth in a wide variety of plants than is diffuse radiation.
While such growers have analyzed the differences in the effects of the manner in which electromagnetic energy is delivered to the plants, little effort has been dedicated to the manner in which a plant ultimately dissipates such energy when in a natural environment. It is of further note that despite many advances in the art, there remains a great deal of room for improvement in providing methods for growing plants in confined conditions in a manner that best replicates their natural environment.
Interestingly, the bio-energetic system of these plants responds dramatically to relatively small changes in the impedance between themselves and earth ground, ramping up or ramping down energy production and internal impedance as a function of connectedness. In particular, it is important that the organism be grounded during times of high stress or trauma. This is because bio-potential increases dramatically during these times. Container grown plants can particularly suffer from stresses because they are insulated and these strong bio-currents are not effectively dissipated.
One method typically employed in the prior art to protect living systems from the detrimental effects of fields is to shield the field source. The shielding collects the energy of the field, and then typically grounds it. In practice shielding is impractical because it must completely cover a field source in order to contain the field. The field will radiate through any openings in the shield. In reality, devices cannot be entirely shielded. Therefore, while the shielding method can reduce the field it does not entirely eliminate it or its potentially hazardous attributes.
Another method typically used in the prior art to protect living systems from electromagnetic fields is to balance the field from the source so that the source effectively cancels its own field, thus ideally producing no offending field. For instance, the AC power distribution to homes and industries is typically carried over unshielded bare copper wires, suspended in the air from towers. These lines are usually either two-phase or three-phase. Theoretically these lines can be arranged physically and by phase such that the EMF fields produced by the individual lines are each canceled by the other power line(s). In practice, however, this power cancellation is not complete and an ambient field still results. Also, the costs involved to produce a power distribution system such as this is prohibitively high.
There is therefore a need for a method and system for improved organic cultivation and environmental control over container grown plants that better replicates a natural environment. More specifically, there is a need for a method and system whereby the environment of the container grown plant is carefully controlled to allow the plant to dissipate stored electromagnetic energy in a manner that best replicates a natural environment to maximize the health, quality and yield of the plant.